Introduction

As of 2000 Norway is divided into
435 municipalities and 19 county municipalities. Oslo is classified
as being both a county municipality and a municipality.

The municipalities vary
significantly regarding size, topography and population. More than
half have less than 5 000 inhabitants, eight have more than 50 000
inhabitants.

The county municipalities and
municipalities have the same administrative status whilst central
government has the overriding authority and supervision of county
municipal and municipal administration.

Most of the welfare services
provided are produced by the county municipalities and
municipalities. Local governement services represent 2/3 of
Norway’s production of public services and are as such an important
factor in the country’s economy.

The framwork for the activities of
the county municipalities and municipalities is laid down by the
parliament (Storting) through legislation and decisions regarding
local government financing. The Storting determines the division of
functions between the different levels of government, i.e. central
goverment, county municipalities and municipalities. Government can
only assign new functions to local government by means of
legislation or decisions made by
the Storting. However, it is an important principle that
county municipalities and municipalities voluntarily may assume
tasks or functions that have not been assigned to others
by law.

Thus the present distribution of
functions is partly the result of decisions made by the Storting
and partly of initiatives taken by local government.

This brochure does not provide a
complete description of the functions of central and local
government. In describing the division of functions between
counties and municipalities the emphasis will be on the main areas
of expenditure in the national budget.

The distribution of functions and
responsibilities

Central government is responsible for higher
education and universities, the National Insurance Scheme, the
armed forces, the national road network, railways, labour market
training schemes, courts and the police force, prisons, foreign
policy, policy regarding refugees and immigrants, and two of the
main hospitals; the National Hospital and the Norwegian Radium
Hospital.

The county municipalities are responsible for
upper secondary schools, hospitals and specialist health service,
childs welfare institutions and institutions for the care of drug
and alcohol abusers, county roads, transport and museums.

The municipalities are responsible for
nurseries/kindergartens, child welfare, primary and lower secondary
schools, public libraries, primary health care, financial support
for welfare clients, care for the elderly and disabled, fire
departments, harbours, municipal roads, water supply, sewage,
garbage collection and disposal, organisation of land usage within
the municipality e.g. the laying out of land for industrial or
commercial use or housing.

Since the 1960s considerable
changes have been made to the distribution of functions between the
three levels of governement. The largest of theese changes has been
the transfer of authority and functions from the county
municipalities to the municipalities. The resposibility of
care for the elderly was transferred from the county
municipalities to the municipalities in 1988, making the latter
fully responsible for this area. The responsibility for the care of
the mentally disabled was transferred in 1991.

The main functions of county
municipalities and municipalities are reflected in the chapter
headings of their accounts. Below is shown the largest items of
expenditure of county municipalities and municipalities.

Figure 1 Operating expenses
according to the main chapters of the internal accounts.
Municipalities 1998.

Figure 2 Operating expenses
according to the main chapters of the internal accounts. County
municipalities 1998.

The main functions of the
municipalities

Education

The educational amenities provided
by the municipalities cover a broad field; kindergartens/nurseries,
preschool, primary and lower secondary school and adult
education.

According to the act regulating
primary and lower secondary education the municipalities are to
provide ten years of education for everyone. The education has to
follow basic principles laid down in the act as well as curriculum
guidelines for primary and lower secondary education.

The act regulating
kindergartens/nurseries makes the municipalities responsible for
the building and running of day care facilities. The municipalities
are not obliged to run the facilities themselves and may leave this
to private organisations under municipal supervision.

Health care and social services

This represents the largest sector
within the municipalities’ financial responsibilities.

The municipalities are responsible
for primary health care, including preventative clinics such as
mother-child clinics and school health service, treatment of
diseases and care for the elderly. Thus the municipalities have to
provide a variety of services; general practitioners, district and
visiting nurses, 24 hour access to medical help, physiotherapy,
nursing homes. The municipalities are free to organise these
services in their own manner. They may employ people directly or
enter agreements with practioners providing services on a private
basis.

According to the social services
Act the municipalities are required to provide assistance for
people with special needs, financial support for people seeking
welfare and special measures for drug and alcohol abusers.

Through The Child Welfare Act the
municipalities are responsible for childrens’ welfare and for
implementing measures to prevent behavioural problems and parental
neglect.

The municipal health and social
welfare systems give priority to measures for integrating people
with disabilities into the local community, and for reducing
institutional care by replacing it with individually oriented types
of care.

Additionally municipalities are
responsible for housing and measures for integrating refugees and
people with residence permits granted on humanitarian grounds.

Housing, commerce and industry and
environmental measures

The municipalities have a number of
tasks relating to the preservation and use of natural resources as
well as to the environment in general. They are required to draft
plans and make decisions regarding the use of agricultural land,
uncultivated land, areas for outdoor leasure activities, the use
and protection of waterways and coastal waters, as well as the
management of hunting and freshwater fishing.

The municipalities may lay out
plots of land for housing and commercial or industrial purposes.
They also have responsibilities regarding the applications for
purchasing and running commercial or industrial activities.

According to the act regulating
pollution control the municipalities monitor local pollution. The
cost of preventing or limiting pollution and of treating waste are
to be covered by the person responsible for the pollution in the
first place.

Some municipalities run commercial
enterprises such as electricity companies, cinemas and parking
lots.

Culture and church affairs

The municipalities are responsible
for running public libraries and school libraries.

They are required to finance
churces and cementeries and cover their running expences.

The municipalities are involved in
a range of cultural activities which vary in their nature and
extent. They are free to get involved in and to support financially
activities within media, music, theatre, literature, museums, arts
and crafts, sport, and voluntary associations.

Municipal planning and technical
services

According to the Building and
Planning Act the municipalities have to make plans for the
development of public services and for the use of land and other
natural resources. Land development plans show areas allocated to
housing with the accompanying roads, water mains and sewage
system.

Most waterworks are owned by
municipalities. The municipalities in general must build facilities
for storing and treating refuse from sewage plants, and they are
also responsible for garbage collection. Housing development plans
often include the provision of child care institutions,
playgrounds, sports grounds, cycling paths, foot paths and
parks.

The Fire Protection Act requires
that municipalities ensure that the fire and chimney sweep services
are manned, organised and equipped to implement fire prevention
measures and to be summoned in case of fire.

The municipalities are responsible
for the construction and maintainance of municipal roads.

The municipalities are also
responsible for the construction and running of wharfs and harbour
installations within their boundaries. When having a harbour a
municipality is responsible for the installation and maintanance of
lights and buoys within its harbour district. Harbour districts are
defined by the Coast Directorate which is part of the Ministry of
Fisheries.

The main functions of the county
municipalities

Education

The county municipalities are
responsible for upper secondary schools including education for
pupils with special needs and adult education at the upper
secondary level.

The county municipalities have a
number of functions as regards vocational training and thus have to
ensure that apprentices doing their training receive the obligatory
schooling.

Health and social services, nursing
and care

In financial terms this represents
the largest sector for the county municipalities and
municipalities.

The county municipalities are
responsible for specialist health services. These consist of
somatic and psychiatric hospitals and institutions, outpatient
clinics and specialist services outside institutions.

The county municipalties are
required to ensure that the necessary places are available in child
welfare institutions and institutions for drug and alchol abusers.
They are also responsible for ensuring dental health service for
its inhabitants.

Culture

The county municipalities are
responsible for etablishing and running public libraries. Beyond
this they may to a large extent choose themselves what cultural
measures they would like to implement.

Transport

The county municipalities are
responsible for the building and maintenance of their own roads.
Additionally they are responsible for school transport and for
ensuring that public transport is available within their
boundaries. Part of this is the awarding of grants to local
transport companies. The county municipalities issue permits for
public transport and taxi services.

Miscellaneous functions

The county municipalities are
required to make plans to coordinate the activities of central and
local government, including the main features of municipal activies
within social, economic and cultural affairs.

The role played by the county
municipalities within regional development has increased in recent
years. In addition to the functions mentioned above they help to
determine the use of central government funds for the promotion of
business and industry in remote areas of the country.